Corrugated cardboard boxes of all sizes are commonly used throughout industry to hold quantities of items, archive documents, ship merchandise, etc. Private use of corrugated cardboard boxes is widespread. These boxes are especially useful because they tend to come in standard sizes and provide convenient storage for all manner of items. The sizes range from a small box which can be easily carried in one hand to large 3′×3′×4′ moving boxes designed to hold bulky items such as bedspreads, pillows, etc.
When a corrugated cardboard box is filled up, even if it is not heavy, it is bulky and very difficult to lift or move because there is no handle. The box must be grasped from the sides and bottom, lifted and allowed to rest against the chest, arms or shoulders of the person or persons carrying it. Cardboard box manufacturers have addressed this problem by making slot-like cutouts on opposite sides of the container to create places for the hands to grab. However this solution does not solve the problem: the weight of the box and its contents causes the slots to tear at the edges after being used several times. The tears propagating into the side of the container render the slot useless for grasping, and destroy the integrity of the container itself.
Many boxes or containers do not allow for any cutout on the sides due to the liquid or powder material contained inside. A variety of attachable handles are disclosed in the patent Literature as attachable devices to facilitate the handling of boxes. Many of them are mechanical devices. Only one device uses adhesive as the means of attachment to the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,191 B1 to Jimmy Keith Willis (2001) discloses a cardboard handle designed for cardboard boxes using an adhesive to secure the handle system to the cardboard box. This handle system consists of a handle and two reinforcement pieces. The handle is a large sheet of cardboard having the same height as the cardboard box, which is glued onto and wraps around the cardboard box. Cutouts on the portions of the handle which attach to opposing sides of the box provide handholds. Two reinforcement pieces cut in the same shape as the cutouts are glued and aligned onto the cutouts to strengthen the handholds. In order for a person to grasp the cutouts, the box must be assembled into its final shape and closed. The disadvantages of this invention are that it is box-specific and consequently more costly to manufacture, difficult to mount and operate, and lacking in sufficient strength to support heavier loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,502 to James B. Davis (1989) discloses a detachable plastic molded handle system for use with containers having a smooth surface. This device includes a set of loop and hook fasteners, commonly known as a Velcro fastener. The hook and loop parts of the fastener are mounted onto the surface of the container and onto the handle, respectively, using adhesive. The contact formed between the hook and loop results in bonds that resist the shear force created when the container is lifted up. This handle assembly is a sophisticated design using: adhesive, Velcro fasteners and a plastic molded handle. This multi-part assembly is expensive to manufacture. The detachable plastic molded handle may easily be lost, rendering the entire system useless. The holding strength of the handle system depends on the bonds generated by the hooks and loops of the Velcro fastener. Successful use of the handle system requires a skillful, experienced operator to align the portions of the system so that the full capabilities of the system are utilized. Misalignment would result in dropping of the box and its contents with resultant injury to the person or box contents. Further, the portion of the assembly attached to the box itself creates a surface topography which interferes with the close juxtaposition of boxes as would be required when stacking them.
In searching for a solution to facilitate storage of goods and the handling of bulky boxes or containers, container manufacturers have devised stackable trays, modular systems, nesting boxes and the like. However, corrugated cardboard boxes have become ubiquitous. They are so popular that they are used in offices, factories and in almost every home. However, there is no simple, readily available, easily implementable handle assembly suitable for a variety of users of varying mechanical abilities.